Which to use
“étranger” and “étrangères” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,174
- “étranger” frequency rank
- #2,349
- “étrangères” frequency rank
- 3523
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | étranger | étrangères |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Relatif à ce qui vient de l’extérieur. | Féminin pluriel de étranger. |
Where the eye mixes étranger and étrangères
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between étranger and étrangères
A purely visual mix-up. étranger (\e.tʁɑ̃.ʒe\) and étrangères (\et.ʁɑ̃.ʒɛʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3523, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
étranger is recorded at frequency rank #1,174, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.tʁɑ̃.ʒe\. étrangères is at rank #2,349, tagged as anadj, pronounced \et.ʁɑ̃.ʒɛʁ\.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 3523, this pair ranks #433,819 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of étranger vs étrangères
Shared letters: aegnrté. Private to "étranger": -. Private to "étrangères": sè.
"étranger" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "étrangères" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "étranger" and "étrangères" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "étranger" or "étrangères" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "étranger" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "étrangères" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #433,819 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "étranger" and "étrangères" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "engranger vs étranger". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #433,819 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.